Dear broker

The jury is still out whether our CPIX inflation figures are trending lower – and so the spate of interest rates cuts predicted this year may not appear as frequently as some economists forecast. What we do hear though is that fuel is edging up again, with another increase being announced at the end of this week. It will be interesting to see what effect the election results will have on business confidence. I am of the opinion that a Jacob Zuma-led government may not be as bad as some doomsayers predicted, and once this ‘business as usual’ news filters down, we’ll see some gains in both consumer and business confidence.  

There is some more good news for our economy, and that is the IPL T20 cricket series currently being played here. The tournaments have been a massive boon to our economy. We were gifted the series after India’s security forces decided that they would have been stretched thin with their elections taking place simultaneously in India. South Africa’s ability to host the event at such short notice, and with such success, bodes well for our efforts during the Confederations and 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Spare a though for those nations caught up in the swine flu outbreak…the global village we live in has meant that the dangers of mass pandemics are very real. Fortunately, it seems protocols developed to protect us from avian flu a few years ago have been effective thus far in limiting the outbreak. If you are travelling this next long weekend, stay safe and enjoy the break.

Regards

Debbie